New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age (4 page)

Mr. Connors had a
plan. He was ready in case the world ever needed someone with his
knowledge. He knew it was only a matter of time before the world
learned of the existence of these extraordinary humans.

A sudden beep from
his room phone broke his concentration. The professor ignored the
call and kept his attention focused on the monitors. The first
unanswered beep prompted the secretary in the other room to phone up
to him again. This time Mr. Connors answered.

“What is it
Ms. Hollins?”

“Sir,
Commander Sullivan is on the other line. He's requesting a video
conference immediately.”

“Understood,”
Mr. Connors replied.

The professor
exited out all the tabs he had opened and clicked on his telecoms
link. The telecoms he had linked to his computer was another
invention of Shaw Enterprises. This invention allowed communication
with a live holographic image of the other person. So regardless of
how many miles away the other person was, it was as if they were
sitting or standing in the room with them. The link, located on the
left side of his screen popped up and the live hologram image of
Commander Sullivan emerged.

“Commander
Sullivan,” Mr. Connors said respectfully.

“Mr.
Connors,” the Commander replied with a slightly dry tone.

“How can I
help you today?” the professor asked.

Commander Sullivan
did not hesitate voicing his disapproval of seeing Jason Shaw, Noah
Winters, Shayne Tucker and Jackson Prescott at his capture sight. The
Harvard professor sat quietly behind his desk patiently waiting for
the commander to finish his verbal attack.

“Commander
Sullivan, if it wasn't for my team, Olden Mars would have escaped. He
would have also injured many in the process.”

The Commander
gritted his teeth, knowing what Mr. Connors said was true. “The
fact remains that your team, was not authorized to be there. That
mission was a confidential mission for G.U.A.R.D personnel only. How
did your team know about the mission in the first place?”

“As I am sure
you are aware, I am notified whenever a Post Human activates his or
her abilities. The moment I identified Olden Mars power signature, I
sent members of my team to handle the situation.”

Commander Sullivan
did not like the term “Handle the situation.” That was
what his team was suppose to do, that was what G.U.A.R.D was
responsible for. Sure, the President authorized and acknowledged Mr.
Connors' team. But, that didn’t mean the commander was thrilled
about it or even agreed with the President's decision.

“Handle the
situation? Your team could've killed innocent civilians.

Also, how do you
explain the stealth jet your team used. Our sensors didn't detect the
ship's signature at all.” Commander Sullivan said in a accusing
tone.

“Well
Commander, not being detected is the purpose of a stealth jet.”

Commander Sullivan
shot Mr. Connors a nasty look. “Why is your team using
technology that G.U.A.R.D doesn't have access to? More importantly,
what reasons could you possibly have for having access to a stealth
fighter jet?”

It was clear to Mr.
Connors that the commander did not trust Post Humans or him for that
matter. The commander took serious issue with The League having a
stealth jet. He had reservations with any Post Human having any sort
of advanced technology at their disposal. In the back of the
commander's mind he was thinking just like the other paranoid
individuals thought when it came to Post Humans. He was thinking that
it was just a matter of time before the Post Human race declared war
on the Human race.

“This stealth
jet is a prototype, first of its kind and today was it's inaugural
flight. The jet incorporates the latest technology on stealth
capabilities and those at Shaw Enterprises are thrilled with its
success. The President is well aware that the jet is in our
possession. He was quite pleased with the results.”

Commander Sullivan
wanted to say more on the subject but there wasn't really much else
he could say. Once Mr. Connors threw out the word “President”
Commander Sullivan had to take a step back. Regardless of his rank as
Commander of the entire G.U.A.R.D organization, it was not his place
to question the President's decision. The President gave Mr. Connors
permission to use the jet without G.U.A.R.D's knowledge. He wanted to
see if the jet could slip in undetected and if so, how long it could
remain undetected.

“How did the
jet get there so fast?” I don't care how fast Jason Shaw flies
or how fast Shayne Tucker can run, no jet can travel that fast. From
the time Olden began attacking us to the arrival of that jet, there
is no way possible the jet could've gotten here that fast!”

“The jet was
already in the city. Jason was giving Jackson and Shayne flying
lessons. There's really no point of having a jet if you can't fly
it.”

Commander Sullivan
rolled his eyes. The professor seemed to have an answer for
everything. Either he was truly telling the truth, or he was an
expert at covering his tracks. The commander couldn't tell which to
be the case. On one hand, Mr. Connors didn't come across as a liar
and he had been very helpful and cooperative with G.U.A.R.D. On the
other hand, the commander simply didn't trust Post Humans. While Mr.
Connors wasn't a Post Human, as far as the Commander knew, Mr.
Connor's loyalties were in question.

Commander Sullivan
prepared to continue his unofficial interrogating of Mr. Connors, but
before he could ask any more questions, his attention was taken away
as was Mr. Connors.

A red bleeping
message appeared on his computer monitor. The bleeping message was a
warning of sorts. It was a warning letting Mr. Connors know that
there was trouble. Something was going down. Something serious enough
to catch both Commander Sullivan and Mr. Connors attention.

The two men turned
their attention back to one another and agreed to revisit the
conversation at another time. Commander Sullivan and Mr. Connors
ended their communication and turned their attention to the problem
at hand.

3

Boston
Thrill Fest

Amusement parks are
always a great attraction. From the little children, to the teens,
and even the adults, amusement parks offer something for everyone.
Including those with malevolent intentions.

The Boston Thrill
Fest was one of the biggest attractions in all of Massachusetts. It
offered over fifty rides. They had eight roller coaster rides, all of
which had at least a four star rating. Ten thrill rides, all of which
had five star ratings. Ten family rides, and twelve children's rides.
In addition, Boston Thrill Fest also boasted five water rides, the
most by any amusement park in the United States. The entire amusement
park is over three hundred acres and ranks as one of the largest
amusement parks around the world.

Jeremy Foster, his
wife Melinda, and little son Joey were just one of thousands visiting
the amusement park. They had been there for about an hour and were
settling down for lunch. Melinda reached inside the backpack on her
husband’s shoulders and pulled out three sack lunches.

“I love
peanut butter and jelly!” Joey exclaimed. This was Joey’s
third trip to Boston Thrill Fest, and he loved it more and more each
time. “Me too son!” Jeremy replied.

Melinda laid the
sack lunches on the bench tables and smiled. The small family settled
themselves on the East side of the amusement park at one of the
designated eating areas. A can of pop, a bag of chips, and a napkin,
completed the lunch for the family of three. Jeremy and Joey had
their favorite sodas and Melinda had some diet drink. It didn't even
matter to her what sort of drink it was, she just liked the fact that
it had the word diet in it.

“I wanna go
on the Devil’s Lair next,” Joey said to his mom. Melinda
rolled her eyes, she didn’t like the word Devil and she didn’t
like Joey getting on some of the more heart pounding rides.

“Wouldn’t
you rather go on that jungle ride over there?”

Joey scrunched up
his small face and shook his head left and right.

“That ride is
for little kids and I’m not a little kid!”

It was always funny
when a little kid claimed not to be a little kid. Often times parents
went along with it as to not burst the child’s bubble, but
Melinda wanted badly to burst his.

Joey looked towards
his dad as if hoping his dad would be the voice of reason. To Joey,
his dad was the boss and had all the power, but Jeremy knew better.
In reality, Melinda was the boss and there was just no other way
around that fact. Jeremy hesitated to respond. He didn’t mind
if Joey went on the ride, but he didn’t want to get into an
argument later with his wife.

“Come on dad
can I go?” Joey asked in a pleading voice.

Jeremy stuffed a
large portion of the sandwich in his mouth and pretended as if he
couldn’t answer. Melinda rolled her eyes knowing exactly what
her husband was doing.

“Can I mom?
Can I go on Devil’s Lair next?”

Melinda took a deep
breath and against her better judgment agreed to let Joey go on the
ride. The only condition being that Jeremy went with him.

“Yes!”
Joey shouted and did a little dance. Melinda gave Jeremy a hard look
as he had a little sly smile on his face. If he was close enough to
her, she would’ve kicked him in the shin for “hanging her
out to dry that.”

“Finish
eating honey,” Melinda said.

Joey sat back down
and quickly finished the remainder of his sandwich. He had to wait
rather impatiently for his mom and dad to finish their sandwiches.
Jeremy used the napkin and wiped the jelly that was stuck in the
corner of his mouth. Melinda handed both her husband and son a small
bottle of hand sanitizer and instructed them to clean their hands.

“Are you
ready for the Devil’s Lair?” Joey asked. He tried to
emulate the deep sinister sound he had heard on the Boston Thrill
Fest commercials. His voice however, wasn’t strong enough to
mimic that sound.

The family finished
eating and threw their garbage out. They hadn’t taken but a
couple of steps when the mood inside the amusement park suddenly
changed. It was typical to hear a lot of screaming resonating off of
thrilled and positively terrified riders, but this was a different
scream. This wasn’t the scream of passengers being thrilled;
this was the scream of many people being genuinely afraid.

“What’s
going on over there?” Melinda whispered to her husband. The
screams seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the amusement
park.

“I don’t
know,” Jeremy replied. He slyly inched his way closer to Joey
preparing himself for a possible situation.

Melinda’s
head turned right. Suddenly loud terrifying screams could be heard
coming from that direction as well. Joey was oblivious to the
screams. He had heard them so many times because of the rides, that
it didn’t register in his mind, that something might be wrong.
Melinda took Joey by the hand and held him tightly.

“Mom!”

“Hush up
now!” Melinda replied.

The terrified
customers started heading in the Foster's direction. It wasn't until
numerous people passed by that the Fosters saw what all the commotion
was about.

“Is that a…?”

“Yes,”
Jeremy replied, preventing Melinda from finishing her question.

“Oh cool,
it’s a robot!” Joey shouted. He didn't understand that
the robot wasn't a part of the attraction.

“Joey, we
gotta go!” Jeremy exclaimed. He lifted his son off the ground
and heaved him over his shoulders.

“What are you
doing dad? Put me down!”

There was no time
to save face; Jeremy wasn’t interested that moment in treating
Joey as a young adult. Joey was his son, his young son, too young to
even realize what was going on. The only thing that was on Jeremy’s
mind was making sure his family got out of there safe.

A combination of
lasers and fire plagued the ground. The rides were on fire and
falling apart. The entire amusement park was filled with terrifying
screams as the robots wreaked deadly havoc.

“It’s
getting closer!” Melinda cried out. Shock set in, and Melina
found herself unable to move as the robots approached her direction.

“Melinda!”
Jeremy cried out after realizing that Melinda was several feet behind
him.

She couldn’t
move, she couldn’t hear anything around her. All she could do
was stare at the giant robot. The robot, which was decked out in
battle armor and stood easily over nine feet tall, seemed to focus in
on Melinda. To its left was an empty wooden coaster ride. The robot
ripped a portion of the coaster off and heaved it at Melinda. Jeremy
saw the entire exchange and pleaded for his wife to move as he
desperately ran back after her. Tears rushed down his cheek as he
realized that he wasn't going to be able to reach her in time.

A sudden gush of
wind zipped passed Jeremy and when Jeremy’s focus was back, he
saw Jason Shaw standing over Melinda.

The roller coaster
tumbled down violently towards them. Jason turned his head and used
himself as a shield to save Melinda from the falling ride. Jason
caught the roller coaster before it could harm anyone and gently
placed it on the ground away from the scattering crowd.

“Melinda!”
Jeremy screamed. He ran over and grabbed his wife lovingly. He kissed
her and held her tightly.

“Get your
family out of here,” Jason ordered. He was in the process of
flying away when Jeremy called out to him. He thanked Jason
repeatedly and asked how he could repay Jason for saving his wife's
life.

“Your
gratitude is payment enough.”

Jason paused for a
moment and gave a gracious smile towards the thankful family. He then
propelled himself off the ground and continued his battle with the
two converging robots. He had to admit the structure of the robots
were top notched. Jason had an idea as to who was responsible for
constructing the robots.